Jeb Bush is admitting what most political observers have already assumed -- the former Florida governor is weighing a 2016 presidential bid.
Bush's remarks came Wednesday at a benefit for a Catholic school in New York, according to an attendee who provided details to Fox News.
"I'm thinking about running for president," the Republican reportedly told the crowd.
According to Fox, the crowd then gave Bush a standing ovation.
"Can someone call my mother so she can hear this?" Bush said in response to the applause.
Last year, the former governor's mother, former first lady Barbara Bush, threw cold water on the idea of her second-to-oldest son vying for the Oval Office.
“I think it’s a great country, there are a lot of great families, and it's not just four families or whatever," she told NBC's Matt Lauer. "There are other people out there that are very qualified, and we’ve had enough Bushes."
Despite his mother's wishes, Bush has previously hinted that he's considering following in his brother's footsteps. In an interview with Fox earlier this month, he said he would make a decision on 2016 by the end of this year.
"I just don’t want to go through that until the right time," he said. "And it turns out that not running has generated more interest than if I said I was running. It’s kind of weird. I’m not that smart, I promise you, it just kind of happened that way."
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